Wearing Knee Sleeves During Training

What Are Knee Sleeves?

Have you seen the pieces of material that people wear around their knees when exercising? This is what is called a knee sleeve. To be clear, knee sleeves are the pieces of stretch materials that are worn around the knee to provide support to the ligaments and joints without compromising motion. Most athletes in weightlifting, football, basketball and other sports wear these sleeves on their knees and other parts of the body.

The main reason why people wear knee sleeves is to provide compression and warmth which helps in protecting the knee from injury. They are mostly confused with braces but knee braces are a little bit different because they are designed to be used on knees that have been injured before to protect them from further damage. The basic idea in the use of knee sleeves is to improve circulation of blood around the knee to reduce swelling and pain. This is one of the greatest benefits offered by knee sleeves.

These sleeves will also hold the patella or kneecap in place when you are exercising and this can slightly improve performance. Statistics collected from rugby players show that there is improved performance when knee sleeves are used in sprinting tests.

When Should You Use Knee Sleeves?

There is always a debate on whether a person should use knee sleeves or not. When most people hear that the sleeve will improve performance, they quickly buy a pair without thinking things through. If the slight improvement gets you ahead, then you can get a pair. Some studies have only indicated improvement in recovery and not in the performance. This means that your knees will recover faster when you are wearing the sleeves but your performance will not be changed.

The issue of whether the knee sleeves will improve your general performance or not remains a grey area scientifically and also non-scientifically. However, the performance element is not the main reason why most people wear knee sleeves.

What Will Knee Sleeves Do For You?

The knee sleeves are small pieces of cloth that are simple in construction. From these, you cannot expect a lot but you will get some improvements on a number of areas. Some of the benefits of knee sleeves include increased stability, reduced injury risk, warmth and improved knee tracking or proprioception.

As the benefits above indicate, the improvements are not directly listed as the overall performance. What the sleeves can do, and will do when used appropriately, is to ensure that things that may hinder your performance are eliminated. This is what contributes to the improvement of your performance when wearing the sleeves. Since you can train without worrying too much about injury, your experience is better and so is your performance.

If you consider the fact that your training session will not be interrupted by swelling, tightness and knee related issues, then you can comfortably say that the sleeves will help in improving your overall performance. Again, your performance improvement is not directly linked to the use of the sleeve but to what the sleeves allow you to do.

Anyone who is frequently training at high intensity will need a pair of knee sleeves. They will keep your knee warm and supported when you are intensely training. Wearing the sleeves after training will provide compression that allows for proper circulation. This will enhance recovery and you will be ready the next training session or day.

If you are this person, it is time to get a pair of effective knee sleeves. You may also want to check out elbow sleeves which work in a similar way as the knee sleeves. It is important to see a doctor if your knee is painful because the knee sleeves might not be effective in solving this problem.

Benefits of Knee Sleeves

There are general benefits offered by knee sleeves and there are some that are related to personal experience. Here are the main benefits of knee sleeves:

Warmth

If you are training during winter, you will need some warmth for a comfortable experience. While the correct warm-up is important, having knee sleeves will ensure that your knees are warm enough and ready for a proper workout session.

Support and Compression

Knee sleeves provide support and compression that increases the blood circulation around the knee and this will improve recovery and allow you to go heavier faster.

Enhanced Proprioception

Proprioception is the awareness of your body’s position and the sleeves improve this awareness through the provision of warmth and the limitation of the patella’s motion. Keep in mind that for better proprioception, warm up drills will help a great deal.

Protection Against Hard Floors

If you train in areas with hard floors, then you can prevent bruised knees through the use of knee sleeves. Though this is not one of the general benefits, you can use the knee sleeves as pads to protect you from all the bruising.

When Is It Important to wear Knee Sleeves?

Knee sleeves are useful when you are dealing with heavy lifting. Exercises such as squats can greatly put pressure on your knees and this means you need to protect them from injury. Beginners may and may not use knee sleeves because they are not handling weights that are too heavy to require the sleeves. They can however use them for other purposes such as to increase blood circulation and for protection from hard floors.

In Conclusion

There are different reasons why knee sleeves are becoming popular in the world of sports and exercises. It is always important to size down when selecting the ideal knee sleeve. Most will eventually stretch and since you want then too snug, a size down will be a great choice. Always keep in mind that there are many solutions to knee problems. If the pain is too much, you should see a medical professional to have the problem diagnosed and treated. Other solutions include strengthening and stretching exercises, hydration and supplements to make your joints stronger.